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Together with Hero Miles, Greg and Steve Galeazzi

February 13, 2015

The latest feature of Hearts Behind the House, highlights the Galeazzi brothers. When Greg Galeazzi was injured in May 2011, his brother Steve Galeazzi, along with other members of their family, were recipients of the Foundation’s Hero Miles program, while also being guests of the Brooke Army Medical Center Fisher House during Greg’s recovery.

Fisher House Foundation’s Hero Miles program provides round-trip airline tickets to wounded, injured and ill service members and/or their families who are undergoing treatment at a military or VA medical center. These flights are made possible through frequent flyer mile donations made by generous individual airline passengers. Since the program began in 2004, Hero Miles has provided over 50,000 tickets to military families, like the Galeazzi’s.

“When I got injured, it’s such a scary, awful thing to go through,” said Greg. “You wake up and your life is catastrophically changed and there’s so much unknown ahead of you. I couldn’t imagine going through that alone.”

Because of Hero Miles, Greg did not have to go through his recovery alone. His family was with him every step of the way.

“For me, when the shock of hearing Greg was injured became reality, doing simple things like making travel arrangements became a nightmare,” Steve said. “You’re in such a state of overwhelming sadness and confusion that you just want to be there to support your loved one. From day one, Hero Miles made being able to support Greg a reality.”

Once the Galeazzi’s heard about Greg’s injury, their initial focus was just like everyone else’s – getting to their loved one. Once they got to Greg, the family realized they would need somewhere to stay. Greg was recovering at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, so his family became guests of the Fisher House there so they could remain steps away from Greg.

Alleviating the burden of travel allowed the Galeazzi family to focus on Greg and provide him the support he needed to continue healing.

“I think hands down think that the Fisher House and Hero Miles programs have been one of the most effective organizations that’s had a clear impact on helping us through this process,” Greg said.

“Fisher House and Hero Miles are programs that just get it,” Steve said. “I couldn’t be more thankful for their tireless efforts on our behalf.”